Municipal-Confessional Cooperation in the Russian Federation: Transformation of Form and Content

The paper analyzes the interaction between local self-government bodies and religious organizations in the context of their development within the historical realities of the modern Russian state. Particular attention is paid to the innovations of the 2020 constitutional reform, which ultimately consolidated the unity of the system of public authority in the Russian Federation and thereby predetermined the current transformation of the legal status of local self-government bodies. Assessing the main directions of municipal-confessional cooperation, the author concludes that modern Russia is implementing a cooperative model of interaction between these institutions. This is preconditioned, on the one hand, by the secular nature of the Russian Federation and, on the other hand, by the need to involve civil society institutions in the process of strengthening and preserving the traditional values of the multinational people of Russia, as well as ensuring the constitutional identity, sovereignty, and State independence. Noting that the legal regulation of interaction between local self-government bodies and confessional communities is not without shortcomings, the author convincingly argues that such regulation is not constitutionally superfluous and requires further improvement and expansion, taking into account the specific national composition of the territories in which particular local self-government bodies are situated. The paper also proposes a number of constructive and well-reasoned measures aimed at enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of this cooperation.

1. Gavrilenkov AF. The policy of state power of the Russian Empire in relation to the Orthodox Church, non-Orthodox denominations and Abrahamic (non-Christian) faiths in 1721–1917; essence, principles, evolution. Author’s Abstract. Dr. Sci. (History). Moscow; 2010. (Russ.).

2. Makovsky AA. Mechanisms of participation of religious organizations in the regional political process of Russia. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series: Political Science. Religious Studies. 2024;48:18-27. (In Russ.).

3. Fominskaya MD. Religious grounds for changing legislation (doctrine, practice, technique). Legal Technique. 2023;17:179-187. (In Russ.).

4. Yanushevich II. Formation of the system of planting atheism in the USSR. Herald of Polotsk State University. Series A. Humanity sciences. 2022;1:82-86. (In Russ.).